Financing commercial mixed-use property with laundromat

[Tije Wilkins]

Hello, all! I came across the opportunity to buy a mixed-use commercial property but I wasn’t prepared and not sure how to navigate the commercial process since the owner isn’t willing to seller finance, and I just recently bought a primary home in November so I can’t get any type of owner occupied loan. I just wanted advice and resources from the fellow BP community!

The property has a laundromat ($24K/yr), mechanic shop ($7200/yr), and 2 mobile homes (owned by the tenants) on a month to month lease ($400/mo). And room for another mobile home (I’d prefer putting my own mobile home to live in on there). The purchase price is listed at $285K and that includes ownership of the land, laundromat, and shop. I only have access to about $30K so not enough for a 20% down payment. Even if I negotiate the price down I don’t have access to $50K+ just for the down payment. The laundromat is an old mom & pop, and will likely need new machines (currently 6 washers & 4 dryers). I don’t have detailed financials on the laundromat as they just did the bare minimum to keep it open, and I want to go in and add value. This is the only laundromat in the town, with the next closest one being 45mins away. 

Note: I bought my primary home in Georgia because the home next to my mom's that I grew up in went for sale, so I plan to hold onto it longterm and put it in a trust with my mom's house. I bought it as a primary residence but it's sitting empty majority of the time as I work in New Mexico 95% of the time and get per diem to be here which more than covers my New Mexico living expenses. So if there's any way to swing this into a reason why I need a second primary home in New Mexico, I'd be interested in that. My DTI is roughly 30% and I make a good 6 figures with my 9-5 plus day trading money so I know that I'll be able to manage both mortgages, I just don't know how or if I can go about financing this deal with little cash on hand.

Any help or resources to look towards would be appreciated, thank you!

[Charles Carillo]

@Tije Wilkins

Have you actually spoken to any local lenders about the property? 

I would suggest speaking to local banks and credit unions. Whenever I have an issue with financing, I normally contact local institutions. They are much more reasonable and are more intertwined in a community than some lender states away. The credit committee is usually made up of local people who are familiar with the market they are in. Lastly, they like building relationships. Once you find a lender that finances properties similar to yours, start building a relationship.

[Michael K Gallagher]

@Tije Wilkins very cool opportunity!  I second the idea of going and speaking to local banks, if the seller won't seller finance the entire purchase price would they be willing to carry back some of the downpayment funds?  if you are going to add value and cashflow the Laundromat, I'd assume that having the business produce the funds from profit to pay off the owner's note would be somewhat straight forward.

If the deal makes sense and the cashflow is there I'd think a cary back would be a good way for the seller to get the number they want and for you to bring little or no downpayment.

[Wyatt Wolff]

Thats a cool deal... I would say give SBA a shot

[Tije Wilkins]

Quote from @Michael K Gallagher:

@Tije Wilkins very cool opportunity!  I second the idea of going and speaking to local banks, if the seller won't seller finance the entire purchase price would they be willing to carry back some of the downpayment funds?  if you are going to add value and cashflow the Laundromat, I'd assume that having the business produce the funds from profit to pay off the owner's note would be somewhat straight forward.

If the deal makes sense and the cashflow is there I'd think a cary back would be a good way for the seller to get the number they want and for you to bring little or no downpayment.

I contacted the credit union in town and they didn’t offer commercial loans. I reached out to another one in the town about 40mins away and they don’t offer what I need either, but referred me out so we’ll see if something comes of that. I’m also already working with someone from BP that reached out to me so I think I’ll have better luck that way. I’ll be updating this post as I navigate the process regardless of outcome. Thank you for your input!

[Tije Wilkins]

Quote from @Charles Carillo:

@Tije Wilkins

Have you actually spoken to any local lenders about the property? 

I would suggest speaking to local banks and credit unions. Whenever I have an issue with financing, I normally contact local institutions. They are much more reasonable and are more intertwined in a community than some lender states away. The credit committee is usually made up of local people who are familiar with the market they are in. Lastly, they like building relationships. Once you find a lender that finances properties similar to yours, start building a relationship.

Thank you for that insight. I ended up contacting the only credit union in town and they don’t offer commercial loans. The other one about 40mins away referred me out so I’m just waiting on a callback on that. Nonetheless, someone from the BP community DMed me and I have my fingers crossed we’ll be able to find something that works. Thank you, again!

[Tije Wilkins]

Quote from @Wyatt Wolff:

Thats a cool deal... I would say give SBA a shot

Thank you! I’ll be looking into that option more.